Tag: nbm2015

I Can’t Understand Black Breastfeeding Week (But I Still Support It)

hollymilkowski August 25, 2015

There are many things I didn’t get about the history of Black Breastfeeding Week, which runs from August 25th-31st. To my credit, I can barely keep up with the history of breastfeeding in general (I mean, the practice does date all the way back to the beginning of mammal-kind).

Prior to looking into the celebration that is Black Breastfeeding Week, I already knew why White Breastfeeding Week doesn’t exist: because all of National Breastfeeding Month is about support and understanding for every last breastfeeding person, and whites aren’t a minority or marginalized group.

Note: Before I continue, please be aware I’m no expert in racial discrimination and though I try my best to overcome my own ignorance at any opportunity, I’m a work in progress here. So I ask for gentleness if I’ve unknowingly represented cultural inaccuracies; my heart is in the right place. ❤ 🙂

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words… When You Add Love, A Thousand More

hollymilkowski August 22, 2015

“A photograph is more than merely a picture…it is an heirloom [that] has the power to transcend generations” – Anel Lestage

Photos have always been so important to me. To please my especially nostalgic heart, I look back on photos often. To satisfy my desire to connect with others (as an especially introverted person), I share my photos often. And I love knowing that when I’m not around, a moment I lived is at least immortalized through another’s eyes behind a lens.

Of course, my favorite, most cherished photos feature my soulmates — my family.

Most recently, my littlest soulmate MaiTai joined me for a Natural Mama Nursing Photo Session with photographer Anel Lestage of Whimsy Candids Photography.

On her web site, Anel explained:

“It is my goal to capture the essence of the marvelous blessing that is motherhood from womb all the way to baby’s first year; as well as that tender, playful stage of the early years. I believe that for a mother, a photograph is more than merely a picture; it is an heirloom that speaks to her heart, delights her soul, and has the power to transcend generations, connecting her posterity to those who came before.”

For Every Bad Experience You Have Nursing in Public, You’ll Have Many More Great Ones

hollymilkowski August 17, 2015

Photo Credit: Leilani Rogers

Emily Medley, public programs director for Houston’s Health Museum, looked out from the podium to explain what led her to this place of passion for normalizing breastfeeding in public.

She recalled a time she went into the museum bathroom, and an uncomfortable scuffling drew her attention from one of the farthest stalls. She realized almost immediately there was a mother inside that stall, breastfeeding her baby on the toilet. It broke her heart.

Emily was pained to realize a mother could so greatly fear the stigma and criticisms (whether quiet or loud) that come with public nursing, that even with laws to protect her right to naturally feed in many states, she still doesn’t feel welcome enough to care for her baby where people can see her. A place of isolation and privacy only… a toilet.

She planned to close out this year’s World Breastfeeding Week in a very special way by hosting this museum presentation by Leilani Rogers, an Austin photographer and founder of The Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project. The exhibit called “Cradle Me Here” featured mothers nursing their babies and children throughout the museum on demand –“live breastfeeding art,” if you will — in response to a need, just like they would any other day or place.

Emily wanted us to know how thrilled she felt to host the event for us and that the museum not only welcomes breastfeeding mothers and our “SO beautiful babies!” but cherishes and respects us, too. After all, the museum board is on track to refocus what their education is “all about.” Now the museum touches most upon “the things that make us human,” and recognizes breastfeeding as one of the first major (and most normal) impressions upon childhood and lifelong physical and emotional health.

Despite all the attention given to those who just don’t “get it,” many people like Emily and Leilani do commiserate with the plight of a publicly breastfeeding mother. I myself have endured a few disappointing experiences breastfeeding in public (read about two here and here), but I’ve enjoyed some memorably positive ones too.

By sharing a few personal stories of positive NIP experiences, I hope that any mother who fears or hesitates to feed her child in public may be encouraged to do what she feels is best for her child — which will never be, at any age or level of publicity or food type, to serve him a meal on the toilet.

9 Arguments Against Wet Nursing & “Milk Siblings” That Do Nothing But Confuse Everyone

hollymilkowski August 13, 2015

Jessica Anne Colletti is seen in this photo breastfeeding Lucian (right) and Mateo.

“This is not child abuse, this is child care.”

So we heard on Good Morning America. But what did everyone else have to say about the woman named Jessica Anne Colletti who proudly shared the basics of her special infant feeding arrangement with a close friend?

She started watching her friend’s 5-month-old son when his mother went to work and he no longer tolerated the formula she’d provided for him in her absence. So she offered to nurse the baby as well as her own then-3-month-old when she was tasked with their care.

Both women had discussed and agreed to the idea and it allowed the working mother to breastfeed for 9 months. The mothers publicized their situation to raise awareness of this option that continues to work well for their families.

The mother shared a photo of her and two nurslings, one of whom is her friend Charlie Interrante’s son, on the Facebook page for Mama Bean Parenting with the caption:

“My son on the right is 16 months and my friend’s son is 18 months. I watch her son while she works and have been feeding them both for a year! So much love between these milk siblings, it’s a special bond between us all.”

And then… the internet exploded in a firestorm of hatred and disgust!

Before tackling that, let’s get our definitions straight. (For the purpose of this post, I’ll refer to these interchangeably as “wet nursing”):

Wet Nursing — the complete nursing of another’s infant, often for pay.

Cross Nursing — the occasional nursing of another’s infant while the mother continues to nurse her own child, often in a child care situation.

Here are 9 perspectives (paraphrased) seen repeated on every thread that shared this story, making it even more difficult for us to understand and appreciate the concept of wet nursing:

What That Doctor Who’s “Not Celebrating World Breastfeeding Week” Needs To Hear

hollymilkowski August 9, 2015

Way to try raining on our parade with something other than, you know, breast milk — which would’ve been very welcome this week!

There’s a piece circulating on the internet, made popular recently due to the fact that it’s World Breastfeeding Week and August is National Breastfeeding Month (let’s call these WBW).

Many people (even those who aren’t breastfeeding) have been celebrating in different ways. Some haven’t been celebrating because they had no idea it’s a week and month designated to breastfeeding. Or they do know but don’t really care.

And then, some are actively NOT celebrating because they do know and they do care. So much that they publicized their refusal to celebrate. One author who goes by the name of Dr. Amy Tuteur did just that. (Edit: Originally I linked to her full article, but I’m sure it’s received enough clicks at this point).

Now a few quotes from Dr. Amy’s article and what I think she needs to hear in response: